{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://cartwright.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-cartwright-introduces-legislation-aimed-at-saving-homeowners-money", "Rep. Cartwright Introduces Legislation Aimed at Saving Homeowners Money on Their Energy Bills", "2016-09-29", "2016", "2016-09", "Democrat", "House", "PA", "Matt Cartwright", "C001090", "cartwright.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC \u2013 Yesterday, U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright introduced the Scoring Calculations for Our Residential Energy (SCORE) Act, legislation that will help homeowners better understand their home\u2019s energy efficiency and give homeowners a clear, cost effective plan to save money and reduce their energy use.\n\u201cHomes in the United States consume more than 20% of our nation\u2019s energy and more than half of the energy used in the buildings sector,\u201d Rep. Cartwright said.\u00a0 \u201cWhile there are plenty of opportunities to improve the efficiency of most homes, consumers have historically underinvested in energy efficiency upgrades.\u201d\nIn the real estate market, a fresh coat of paint can return far more in resale value than it costs, while an extra layer of insulation reduces energy bills in perpetuity but has little to no impact on resale value.\u00a0\nLong term, an energy score should be provided alongside the walking score in a real estate listing and become as common as detailing the miles per gallon when selling a car.\u00a0 In fact, the market is already beginning to move in this direction; some prospective home buyers now request information about the energy efficiency of homes before buying. \u00a0Realtors and the MLS listing service in 79 out of the top 100 metropolitan areas are responding with fields reserved for energy efficiency or environmental impacts of the residence on home listings.\u00a0 A study from Chicago showed that homes that provided this information online in an easy to access format stayed on the market 20 days fewer than those homes that did not provide online access to their energy use.\nSpecifically, the SCORE Act would codify the voluntary Department of Energy (DOE)\u2019s Home Energy Score Program. \u00a0The program generates a report that includes a current evaluation of the energy efficiency of the home and presents a \u201cscore with improvements\u201d that reflects the home\u2019s expected score if cost-effective improvements are made.\u00a0 By including a measurable return on investment, the score value incentivizes homeowners to make energy investments.\nRep. Cartwright concluded, \u201cThe faster the market adopts energy scoring, the more money homeowners will save on their energy bills and the less energy our homes will waste.\u201d\nRep. Matt Cartwright represents Pennsylvania\u2019s 17th Congressional District, which includes Schuylkill County and portions of Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, and Northampton Counties.\u00a0 Cartwright serves on the House Committee on Appropriations.\n\u00a0\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://cartwright.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-cartwright-introduces-legislation-aimed-at-saving-homeowners-money"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0324548929929733, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}